Class 40 sailors win Rolex Middle Sea Race

Corrected time honours for Frenchman Thierry Bouchard and the drew of Spirit of Ad Hoc

The overall winner of the Rolex Middle Sea Race 2008 was determined at 20.49CET yesterday evening when, Ricomincio da tre (ITA), the last remaining boat on the course with a prospect of winning, failed to cross the finish line. As a result Thierry Bouchard and Spirit of Ad Hoc (FRA) were duly declared the victors. Living up to the name of the boat, Bouchard and his crew had adapted best to the ever-changing conditions, improvising as necessary to keep moving forward whatever the weather threw at them. And, while this is the first time since 2002 that a yacht under 50ft has won the race, it goes to show that given the opportunity, and by that read wind, this is a race that any yacht has a chance to win.

Bouchard though is no ordinary sailor. He competed in the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre in 2007, finishing 10th in the Class 40 division. In 2008 he competed in the single-handed Transat from Plymouth to Boston finishing third in the Class 40. Teammate and navigator, Oliver Krauss, did the return race from Québec to Saint-Malo finishing second, and, according to Bouchard, all the seven-man crew on the Beneteau 40.7 have considerable offshore experience.

"This was the first time any of us have done the Rolex Middle Sea Race and, to be honest, we are more used to ocean racing so we did not know what to expect. We knew we could do well, but not this well," said Bouchard after having time to reflect on his achievement. "I had wanted to do the race for a long time. When I decided to do it this year I asked my friends what they thought and they all said immediately that they would come. So I had no trouble finding crew." Bouchard was not entirely surprised by this, "the course is extraordinary; it has everything. It is not straightforward at all - there is strong wind, light wind, current.and it is a beautiful course. All the places you pass are different, from the start with the cannons to Messina, Stromboli.it makes it fascinating. I would really like to do the race again."

The race had not been without its ups and downs, highs and lows. "We had a very good start and were first out of the harbour. We enjoyed good wind conditions all the way to Stromboli where we rounded in the dark and took some fantastic pictures of the volcano at night," explained Bouchard. "The next part was very tricky. One moment we would have some wind and move away, then the wind would die and boats would catch us up again. Then we would move again, stop and so on. At times it was quite distressing to put all the effort in for nothing. We are good friends on the boat and have known each other for a long time. One time we were all sitting quietly on deck, very unhappy when one guy went below and turned on the music really loud. Immediately, we all cheered up."

For Bouchard it was the 'all for one, one for all' mentality of the crew that made the victory happen, and made it special, "a result like this only happens if everyone gives their effort the whole time." The key period in the race was not the problematic conditions on the northern coast of Sicily, it was the legs from Pantelleria to Lampedusa and then to the Comino Channel, "we had to stay completely focused on speed. Sometimes we were reaching and sometimes beating, so we changed sails several times and trimming was very important. We had three good helmsmen on board and kept rotating to ensure concentration."

Spirit of Ad Hoc also experienced the violent squall that had affected so many of the yachts on Wednesday: "We were past Trapani, on our way south, when we were hit by a really vicious storm for about half an hour. The winds went up to 47 knots in an instant and to keep control we just sailed under main alone. This kept us moving forward fast, surfing at times, even though it was very difficult to see anything. When we came out the other side and visibility improved, we realised that a lot of the boats that we had been with were not around us anymore. We decided this was a good sign, because we knew we had been going fast."

The final part of the race from Comino to the finish at Marsamxett Harbour was not so simple. Spirit of Ad Hoc was racing hard against the clock at this point. With two hours to go ten-miles it looked a certainty that they would make their time, but it was here that the wind gods starting playing games again. The breeze was light, patchy and variable in direction. Keeping one's nerve, trusting one's luck and remaining patient were critical. Bouchard and crew did not realise just how well they were doing at this point, nor did they realise how tight was their window of opportunity. Probably just as well; the additional pressure of that knowledge might have put them off their stride. "We realised early on that we were doing well. There were bigger boats around us and so we were confident we could place quite high. But this result was unexpected."

At the prize giving tomorrow, Thierry Bouchard and the crew of Spirit of Ad Hoc will be awarded the Rolex Middle Sea Race trophy and a Rolex Yacht Master timepiece in Rolesium for their unflinching efforts. Bouchard has also won the dual-scored ORC Club Division.

Other winners are Anthony Camilleri & Kevin Gauci Maistre and Bavaria Flyer 2 (MLT) in the battle of the double-handers; Hans Nagel and High Q1 (GER) took the laurels in the Multihull Class, just reward for completing the storm-ridden course last year and having the strength of character to have another crack.

The cut-off time for finishing is 0800 CET Saturday 25th October. At 1800 CET, today, four boats have yet to finish: Obelix (ITA), which should be next home, Monomatapa (ITA), Squibs (GBR) and Seawolf of Southampton (GBR). Sixteen yachts retired out of the 77 boat fleet that started the race.